Medvedev hopes Russia-Tajik relations to be crucial in Sadovnichy case

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hopes that Tajikistan will consider its level of relations with Russia in deciding the fate of Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy. “I really hope that our Tajik friends will hear or have already heard us and in the final decision will be guided not only by abstract considerations, but the general level of relations [with Russia],” Medvedev said at a press conference after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii. But he added that the decision on the fate of Sadovnichy should be taken in accordance with the laws of the republic. Sadovnichy and his Estonian colleague Alexei Rudenko were sentenced to eight and a half years each in jail in Tajikistan on November 8 for smuggling and violation of Tajikistan’s airspace. Moscow has called the sentence “politically motivated” and threatened to expel some 200 Tajik migrants. Last week, Moscow summoned the Russian ambassador back to the capital for consultations. “We cannot ignore this case because this is a citizen of the Russian Federation. In general, this situation looks very odious,” Medvedev said. Medvedev also said that the deportation of the illegal Tajik migrants in Russia is not a one-time campaign and called to expel illegal migrants on a regular basis. A Russian diplomatic source told reporters that the expulsion of some 100 Tajik migrants is a part of Moscow's response to the Sadovnichy verdict. Two planes with Sadovnichy and Rudenko as crew commanders were returning from Afghanistan where they had delivered humanitarian aid in March. They had permission to fly via Tajikistan but Tajik traffic controllers said they had no confirmation on land and asked them to return to Kabul. The planes did not have enough fuel and had to land in Tajikistan regardless. Tajik authorities based their smuggling charges on the fact that the pilots had an unassembled engine onboard, which they said they were using as spare parts.